I Become a Landlady in the Game World
Chapter 112 - 072: The Next Upgrade of the Territory

Chapter 112: Chapter 072: The Next Upgrade of the Territory

Zhou Bai went straight to Meng Chengzhou as soon as possible.

"What’s up?" Meng Chengzhou asked.

"I need your help with something," Zhou Bai began, "Could you use wood to help make a large bulletin board?"

"A bulletin board? What’s it going to be used for?" Meng Chengzhou asked curiously.

"It’ll be for territory announcements," Zhou Bai explained directly, "I’m hoping everyone can exchange information through it. People might even post private job ads and such."

"That works. The territory already has a bulletin board, but most of it is just purchase announcements. A lot of information doesn’t get covered. Making a private one might actually yield some unexpected results," Meng Chengzhou agreed and added, "Leave it to me. I’ll make it for you as soon as I can."

"Thanks," Zhou Bai said with gratitude.

Now that they thought about it, the territory was fortunate to have craftsmen like Meng Chengzhou, who directly addressed many gaps.

Even as the lord, Zhou Bai couldn’t create everyday items out of thin air.

"No need to thank me. I’m just doing a paid job," Meng Chengzhou replied with a laugh, "Besides, this benefits the territory and everyone living here. Only someone in your position could push something like this successfully."

If someone else tried, they probably wouldn’t be able to manage the residents of the territory.

Even though things seemed calm on the surface, the underlying competition was fierce.

Competing for demon beasts, markets, resources... There were many areas of rivalry.

It wasn’t like no one had ever had certain thoughts, but not everyone could handle them.

But Zhou Bai was different. In Hope Village, she had both strength and backing. If she spearheaded it, it would work.

Zhou Bai listened to his words and immediately understood his point.

Thinking ahead, as the population grew, the territory would only become more complicated.

Her only advantage was her ability to privately manage the territory while striving not to abuse her power. While that was a normal approach, the danger was that once addicted, it could be hard to turn back.

But knowing herself, she felt confident that she wouldn’t succumb.

With that thought, Zhou Bai continued, "By the way, I have another favor to ask."

"What is it?"

"Have you ever tried... making paper? We’d need it for posting announcements on the bulletin board. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just simple," Zhou Bai asked tentatively.

Once Meng Chengzhou completed it, she planned to reward him with contribution points and take the opportunity to issue some invention-related tasks for the territory.

Some things from the real world were still incredibly useful, things that magic in this world couldn’t solve.

"I’ll give it a try! If I can pull it off, there’ll probably be quite a market for it too," Meng Chengzhou’s eyes lit up instantly.

"Thanks for handling this," Zhou Bai said.

"I should be thanking you for bringing it to my attention. Now I’ve got another potential business to develop," Meng Chengzhou responded. Meanwhile, his mind started envisioning paper-making materials—tree bark, bamboo, and other simple resources were readily available near the territory. Next up would be the tools needed to make paper.

As a carpenter, none of this would be difficult for him.

Seeing Meng Chengzhou deep in thought, Zhou Bai chose not to disturb him and turned her focus toward preparing for the mining tasks.

As for the mining team, she already had someone in mind.

It wasn’t anyone else—it was Yu Ziming and the others, who were still in their punishment phase.

During their confinement, they had made significant contributions to the territory’s basic infrastructure, but they hadn’t received any compensation. Additionally, their experience points had merely been kept from declining, while others gradually became professionals, leaving them stuck lingering at levels seven and eight.

From the time she mentioned giving them a chance until now, they had completed every task assigned by the territory without showing any outward resentment.

This would be their final test. If they passed, they would be allowed to stay in Hope Village.

With these thoughts in mind, Zhou Bai headed straight to the blacksmith shop.

The shop wasn’t busy at the moment, and the only sound was the ringing of hammer strikes coming from inside.

"Keep hammering! If you want to learn real skills, mastering the basics is essential. Even if your hands are sore, you’re not allowed to stop. If you can’t endure it, you can leave!"

Harrison’s strict voice echoed from inside. From the group of apprentices initially selected, only two or three were still hanging on at this point.

Becoming a blacksmith depended not only on talent but also on perseverance.

Spotting Zhou Bai, Harrison instructed the apprentices to continue, then stepped outside to greet her.

"What brings you here?" Harrison asked as soon as he saw Zhou Bai, clearly aware that she usually came only for something important.

"I’m here to deliver iron ore. Also, I need to commission a batch of iron pickaxes—30 of them. How soon can you have them ready?" Zhou Bai asked directly.